Five Days!
by camcalli
Summary: When supplies run low on Hoth, anything can happen. Especially when the Rogues are involved.


I admit, this was written one night after I discovered that I had no coffee left in the house and was suffering severe caffeine withdrawal. I blame any errors,flaws or general weirdness on my condition.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and nobody…except Aurora.

The figure muffled in heavy, outdoor clothing walked swiftly down the ice corridor, paying little attention to those around it. When it reached a particular door, it cast a swift, surreptitious glance up and down the corridor. With skilled fingers, it bent to the door pad and swiftly finessed the code. The door pad beeped an affirmative, and the door hissed open. With another swift glance around, the figure entered the room behind. As the door closed behind it, the figure pulled off the heavy gloves and swaddling scarf.

"Alright, Skywalker. I know it's here somewhere; let's see if I can find it." Swiftly, the figure began a hasty, but skilled search, checking under the desk, behind drawers, under stacks of flimsies. After a frustrating fifteen minutes, the figure was ready to admit defeat.

"Shavit! Where did you hide it?" Hands on hips, the figure surveyed the small office. Suddenly, the door hissed open, and a familiar voice remarked from the doorway.

"Can I help you with something?"

Luke Skywalker entered the room, allowing the door to close behind him and crossed to the still figure. He pulled off the watch cap, allowing a tumbled red braid to spill down.

"Looking for something?" He asked, amusement coloring his voice as he surveyed the sulky face of his second in command.

Green eyes narrowed at him. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" He asked, all innocence, moving to sit in the chair behind his desk.

"Don't play with me, Skywalker. I know you have it. I want it. Now."

Luke only smiled, lifting his feet onto his desk and leaning back in his chair. "Supposing I do have what you're looking for, what's it worth to you?"

She started to growl at him, then thought better of it. A strange expression crossed her face, one he wasn't familiar with. He didn't quite know why, but suddenly he felt he might be safer standing, and rose to his feet. A smile spread across her face and she began walking towards him. Aurora had always moved with grace, but now there was a particularly predatory quality to it; an extra swing in the hips, an awareness in her eyes. Luke swallowed convulsively and willed his eyes not to drop to those swinging hips. It might not be safe to take his eyes off her suddenly. Aurora, for her part, let her eyes drift down his body slowly and then back up again, that small smile still on her lips. When she spoke, her voice was a throaty purr he had never heard from her before. "I don't know, Commander, it might be worth a lot to me. Quite a lot."

For the first time since they had landed on this frozen ice cube of a planet, Luke felt overly warm. He tugged nervously at his heavy parka, keeping his eyes on her until she was right in front of him. "A lot?" He managed, his own voice coming out strangled.

"Mmmm hmmm." She purred, sliding her hand down his chest. "A lot."

Luke swallowed again. He was keeping a close eye on her out of self preservation, so he noticed when her eyes suddenly focused over his shoulder and narrowed.

"Well, well, Skywalker. Who would have thought you were so clever?" Aurora had spotted the almost invisible line carved in the ice wall of the room. "A little lightsaber practice?" She moved away from him, running her hand over the wall and finding the outlines of a rough square carved into the ice. Skilled fingers quickly found the notches he had carved as finger holds and began easing the block of ice out of the wall.

"Hey!" He made a grab for her, catching her wrist. She threw him off with a quick snap of her arm, but the move shifted her enough that he was between her and the wall. She swiftly calculated her choices, and then allowed that sultry smile to cross her face again.

"I'm sure there's enough to share; we just need to play nice."

But this time Luke wasn't falling for it. He shook his head. "Nice try, but no deal. I'm not buying it this time. You should be ashamed of yourself, stooping to that level."

All trace of the femme fatale left her face. "Get out of my way, Skywalker. It's been three days since I had any. I want what's behind that block."

"No way. I stole it fair and square."

She growled low in her throat and shoved past him. Without hesitation, he tackled her to the floor, which may have been a mistake. She was strong and she was agile. Luke was forcibly reminded that she was also better at hand to hand then he was. He was slightly hampered by the fact that he was trying not to seriously hurt her. Aurora seemed to have no such compunction as they rolled across the floor. He grunted as she jabbed her elbow into his ribs and stole his breath. It was through sheer luck that he managed to pin her to the floor. She struggled and swore, but he was sitting on her thighs and had her wrists pinned with his hands. "Get off me!"

"No," He panted, "Just admit you lost and it's mine."

Her eyes lit with sheer fury, but before she could snarl at him, the office door opened, and Dack, the latest addition to Rogue Flight walked in. He stopped dead at the sight of his two commanding officers lying in a rather compromising position on the office floor. For a moment, no one spoke then Luke cleared his throat. "Can I help you with something, Dack?" He managed to sound almost normal. Not at all like a man who was currently straddling his second in command on the floor of his own office.

Dack glanced back and forth between their faces. "Um, is this a bad time?"

"No." They answered in unison.

"Uh, okay." Dack still looked uncertain. "Uh, I was just wondering if you had finished the shift schedule?

Luke looked down at the woman lying under him. "Did you get that finished?"

Aurora nodded. "Almost. I'm just waiting to hear back from General Rieeken on how the shifts for the boundary markers are going to be handled." Unable to move her head much, she rolled her eyes up to look at Dack. "I'll get it out to the rest of the squad as soon as it's completed."

"Uh, okay." Dack said again. He continued to stand there, staring at them dubiously.

Beginning to feel even more like a fool, Luke cleared his throat again. "Was there something else?"

"Uh, no. I guess not." Dack turned and walked out the door, still casting doubtful looks over his shoulder at them. He was shaking his head in confusion when he walked right into Wedge and Tycho in the corridor outside.

Tycho grabbed his shoulders to keep him from falling. "Whoa! Watch where you're going."

Wedge eyed the confused look on his face. "Everything okay, Dack?"

"Sure." The younger man replied, then frowned in confusion again. "Sirs, can I ask you something?

"Of course." Wedge replied.

"Is there something going on with Commanders Skywalker and Kenobi?"

It was Tycho's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Dack rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I just walked into Commander Skywalker's office, and I guess I should have knocked, because I think I interrupted something."

The other two men exchanged glances. "What do you mean 'interrupted something'?"

A blush spread across Dack's face. "Um, they were lying on the floor, and, um, Commander Skywalker was, um, sitting on top of Commander Kenobi."

Wedge's eyes opened wide. "No way!" He breathed. He and Tycho exchanged swift glances again. "Have they finally come to their senses?"

"Come on," Tycho exclaimed. "We have _got_ to see this."

"Uh, sirs. I don't think you should do that. What if they're, um, busy?" Dack stammered.

The two men, trailed reluctantly by Dack, rushed to Luke's door and opened it. Inside, the tide of the battle had turned. Distracted by Dack's entrance, Luke had failed to pay attention to what he was doing, and Aurora had flipped him off her. She had managed to get to the package that had been concealed behind the frozen wall before Luke tackled her again. They were once again rolling around the office floor. Luke was half breathless with laughter as he tried to pin Aurora's arm so that he could get the package from her. She, on the other hand, was taking ruthless advantage of every weakness she could find, and it was only through sheer luck again, that he managed to avoid a knee to the groin. The entrance of Wedge and Tycho went almost unnoticed.

The two pilots surveyed the couple on the floor in front of them. Wedge tipped his head to the side. "What do you think? Mating ritual?"

Tycho shook his own head. "Nope. Maybe some kind of combat training?"

Wedge winced at a particularly nasty blow from Aurora. "Ouch! That one had to have hurt. You know, I think she's better at this than he is."

"Oh, I agree." Tycho said. "In fact, I think she'd be winning if she had both hands free."

"True." The Corellian concurred. "I wonder what's in that package?" He reached over and plucked it out of Aurora's hand.

"No!" She and Luke both yelled, pausing in their battle.

"What's in here that has the two of you wrestling like a couple of Gamorreans?" Wedge asked. He started to make another comment then caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Raising the package to his nose, he inhaled deeply.

On the floor in front of him, Aurora and Luke froze.

Wedge's eyes widened. "This is caf!" He breathed. "Where did you get it?"

Beside him, Tycho looked stunned. "The base ran out of caf almost a week ago. Did a supply shipment come in?"

"No." Aurora snarled, rolling to her knees. "Skywalker stole that from the mess. He's been hoarding it for days."

The two pilots in the doorway focused on their commanding officer with hostile looks. Luke swallowed nervously and stood up. "What was I supposed to do with it? There obviously wasn't enough to share with the entire squadron. I couldn't exactly just play favorites. It would have just caused fights."

"So you decided to keep it to yourself?" Tycho asked.

Luke turned stubborn. "Technically, it _is_ mine. It's not my fault everyone else ran out of caf."

"Five days." Wedge moaned. "Five days I've gone without caf." He clutched the package tightly.

"Wedge." Aurora warned. "Don't even think about it."

Wedge took a step backwards into the corridor. "I've never gone that long without caf before."

Beside him, Tycho shifted his weight, uncertain if he should help Wedge, or grab the package himself. Aurora came to her feet gracefully, her eyes locked on Wedge. "You are not leaving with that package. I have spent an entire day tracking it down, and the last few minutes of it rolling around on an icy floor. Not to mention just getting caught in a compromising position with my commanding officer. That caf is mine! I've earned it."

Luke shot her a nasty look. "Excuse me. But you didn't earn it. You tried to steal it."

"So did you!"

"No," He drawled. "I _did_ steal it. You just tried…and failed."

"Not yet I haven't." Aurora warned.

Wedge took advantage of their distraction to take another step down the corridor.

"Wedge!" Luke yelled.

With that, all hell broke loose. Wedge turned to sprint down the corridor, Tycho beside him. Behind him, all enmity forgotten, Aurora and Luke burst out of the office and tore after the other two pilots. Unfortunately for all of them, the corridor floor, unlike Luke's office, was well trod and the icy floor was almost polished by the numerous boots that had crossed it. It was never made for high speeds. Tycho's feet went out from under him almost immediately and he hit the floor with a thud. Wedge made it a little farther, but Luke, close on his heels, tripped over Tycho's prone form and slammed into Wedge from behind. They both went down in a tangle and the package of caf shot out of Wedge's hands and skidded down the corridor. Aurora managed to leap over the pile of men, and almost made it to the package, but Luke's hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, yanking her to the floor. She dug her nails into the floor, trying to get purchase, but the ice was too slick, and Wedge had joined Luke in holding onto her foot. Together, the two men dragged her backwards. She cursed and wiggled, but they were too strong for her. The entire battle was punctuated by curses, grunts and oaths.

Behind them, Dack watched in utter amazement as four of his superior officers rolled around on the corridor floor, swearing. He hesitated, wondering if he should call someone to stop this before it got more out of hand. Maybe this was a result of the darkness and cold conditions. They had been warned about this in training. Before he could make a decision, Wedge managed to get away from the other three and made a lunge for the package. Aurora, lying prone on the floor, with Luke and Tycho grappling across her back, closed her eyes and concentrated, flinging one hand out in front of her.

Just as Wedge's fingers were about to close around the caf, it shot several feet down the corridor in front of him.

Wedge turned his head in disbelief. "You used the Force for this?"

"Five days, Antilles!" She growled.

Suddenly a new voice was heard. "What in the seven Corellian hells is going on?"

The pilots looked up to see Wes Janson and Hobbie Klivian standing in front of them. Wes bent down to pick up the small package lying at their feet.

"No!" The men all shouted, but Aurora thinking fast, yelled louder. "Wes, give that package to me and I'll sleep with you."

"Aurora!" Luke looked shocked and appalled. His face lit up like a supernova, Wes immediately started to hand the package to her.

Wedge looked desperate. "I'll offer the same!"

There was a moment while they all paused to stare at the Corellian, Wes looking slightly afraid.

"Ewww." Tycho commented.

"I want that package!" Wedge yelled, his eyes wild.

Wes looked intrigued. He tossed the package up in the air. "Whatever's in here must be pretty valuable. What exactly is it?"

"Caf." Dack said.

"Caf?" Hobbie and Wes both froze. Suddenly Wes was cradling the package tenderly.

Hobbie shook his head mournfully.

"Wes, think about what I'm offering." Aurora said, trying to sound seductive and not merely desperate.

"I'll give you three days leave." Luke countered.

"You can't do that!" Aurora protested.

"The hell I can't," Luke said, glaring down at her.

"That's taking unfair advantage of your position as squad leader."

"And what did you think you were doing offering sexual favors?"

"Hey, you could have offered the same." The redhead said, shrugging as best she could while buried under two men. "After all, Wedge did."

"I did not!" Wedge said indignantly, then at the dubious looks around him, he asked uncertainly, "Did I?"

Wes glanced down at the package in his hand and then at Aurora with equal amounts of desire.

Luke, seeing his officer starting to cave, changed tactics. "Janson, you give that caf to her and you'll be on sentry duty for months!"

"Now that is really unfair." Tycho stated.

"Thanks, Tych." Wes said, warmed by the support.

"The rest of us can't offer that kind of incentive." Tycho continued, ignoring Wes.

"To hell with this." Wedge growled. "Give me that caf!" He yanked the package out of Wes' hands and took off down the corridor at a full run.

Behind him, the others yelled in outrage and scrambled after him, Wes and Hobbie joining in.

Dack shook his head. "I think this has gotten out of control." He turned and headed in the other direction, making his way towards the quarters of the Alliance's leaders.

The other members of the Rebel base, hearing the commotion of the chase, were quick to plaster themselves against the walls of the corridor as the Rogues went pelting down the icy hallways after Wedge. He had gained a slight lead due to the surprise, but the others weren't far behind. In fact, Luke and Aurora, with their near Jedi reflexes, were right on his heels and the other three weren't far behind. Trying to put some space between them, Wedge took the next corner as fast as he could, bouncing off the far wall, but keeping his feet, the package of caf still tucked protectively next to his chest. Behind him, he heard the others make the turn. By the sound of the cursing going on, it sounded like at least one of them had fallen. A quick glance behind showed him Hobbie staggering back to his feet. However, the glance had been a mistake, as he had to swerve quickly to avoid a technician carrying a box of supplies and the time it took to get his balance back, cost him. A hand caught hold of the back of his coat and yanked, sending his stumbling backwards. He tried to keep his feet, but the slickness of the floor defeated him and he went down hard, the caf sailing free of his grip.

"No!"

Without even a glance at their fallen comrade, Aurora and Luke ran past him, after the package.

The slender redhead got to it first, but Luke dove at her, knocking her to the floor in a flying tackle. They had built up so much momentum, that the movement, combined with the slippery footing, sent the two of them skidding out of the corridor and across the floor into the hangar bay.

Technicians and pilots a like stopped what they were doing to watch Rogue Leader and his second in command go sliding across the icy hangar, swearing and struggling. The amused grins turned to open mouthed fascination when the other four members of Rogue Flight came flying out of the same hallway and jumped on top of the other two. Work quickly came to a halt as the fascinated Rebels began placing bets on what was happening and who would win.

After a few chaotic moments, the combatants suddenly realized that none of them was holding the precious parcel.

"Where did it go?" Aurora demanded, pushing her straggling hair out of her eyes.

Luke shoved Wes off his legs and stood up, searching the floor around them. "Did anybody see it?"

"Sir?" A technician approached them hesitantly. "If you're looking for the package that you were, um, arguing over, it's over there. Someone kicked it and it slid across the ice."

As one man, the six members of Rogue Flight followed the tech's pointing figure across the hangar bay to a pen set up against the wall; a pen containing the various taun tauns that the Alliance used as riding animals on the planet's surface. Even as they watched, one of the animals bent over to sniff the innocuous package lying on the ground. Then, to the pilots' horror, the snow lizard opened his mouth and ate it.

"No!" Wedge screamed, dropping to his knees and clutching his head. "Five days! Five fracking days without any!"

The others said nothing. They simply watched the animal chew, in a sort of numbed horror.

They weren't aware that the hangar around them had gone silent until someone suddenly cleared their throat behind them.

Luke and Aurora turned to look, and immediately came to attention, while the others, except for Wedge, scrambled to their feet.

General Rieekan, the commanding officer in charge of the base on Hoth, surveyed the six pilots in front of him. Their clothing was in various states of disarray, several faces bore visible scrapes and bruises, and Wedge was still moaning on the floor, his eyes locked on the distant taun taun. Rogue Flight was the elite

Turning his attention back to Rogue Leader, he raised one eyebrow. "Do I even want to ask, Commander Skywalker?"

Feeling his face flush, Luke avoided looking at any of the members of his flight. "Probably not, sir."

"I didn't think so. Can I trust that, whatever it was, it's now finished?"

Luke sighed and glanced at the contented taun taun. "Yes, sir. It's definitely finished."

"Good. I'll leave you to your duties then, Commander." Rieekan turned to go. "Oh, and you might want to get some medical help for Lt. Antilles. He seems to be in some distress."

"Yes, sir." Luke said again. He gestured to his pilots and Tycho and Wes pulled Wedge to his feet.

"Come on, Wedge. Let's go. It's over."

"No, no it's not." Wedge replied. "I'm going to get that caf, one way or the other." His eyes were still fixed on the guilty taun taun.

Later that night, a very tired Rogue Leader and his second in command made their way through the icy corridors towards the pilots lounge. "Come on, I'll treat you to a nice hot mug of water." Luke told Aurora.

She grimaced. "Yum."

As they entered the room, they both noticed an unusual smell coming from the table where several pilots were gathered. Wedge had a large bowl in front of him with steam rising from it. Spotting his commanding officers, he gave them a rather weird smile. "Hey, you're just in time for dinner. Hungry?"

Aurora eyed the pot he held. It contained a grayish-brown substance with various unidentified chunks submerged in it. "What is it?"

"Stew." Wedge announced cheerfully.

"Stew?" Luke leaned over his shoulder. Never loath to eat, he gave a cautious sniff. "Doesn't smell too bad, Wedge. I'll have some."

Aurora grabbed his shoulder. "Wait a minute. Wedge, where did you get the meat?"  
The Corellian pilot grinned maniacally. "Told you I'd get that caf!"

Wes and Hobbie, who already had half-eaten bowls in front of them, looked at their meals in horror.

Aurora shuddered and Luke set down the bowl he had just picked up. "On second thought, Wedge, I think I'll pass. Even I draw the line at taun taun stew."


End file.
